This invention relates to a card reader carrying out processings, e.g., reading information stored in a magnetic card or writing information into the magnetic card, and more particularly to a card carrier in the card reader carrying the magnetic card in order to write and read the information.
Generally, a card reader is used in order to read information stored in a magnetic card, to write information into the card, to check the information written into the card and to form a punched hole (especially, a hole allowing a visual check of data on the remaining sum of money recorded magnetically on a prepaid card which records the information on a certain sum of money when the card is used as an article-exchange ticket, passenger ticket or telephone coupon ticket) visually transmitting to the user the magnetically recorded information.
Conventionally, in accordance with such card reader, a card carrier including a plurality of carrying belts made of an elastic material and a like of motors driving the plurality of the carrying belts are employed and the plurality of the carrying belts made of the elastic material causes the card inserted through a card insertion slot to travel over a magnetic sensor, in order to carry out various processings, e.g., write and read the information.
Generally, the card carrier in the card reader must bring the card into close contact with the magnetic sensor when information stored in the card is read. Therefore, in a conventional card carrier, a pressure roller made of an elastic material is brought into close contact with the magnetic sensor by the force of a resilient means, e.g., of a spring. Once the travelling card reaches the magnetic sensor, the card lifts up the pressure roller provided atop the magnetic sensor in order to pass between the pressure roller and the magnetic sensor.
In addition, the prior-art card carrier in the above card reader includes a flat card-passageway over which the card travels.
Since the above prior-art card carrier in the card reader has an arrangement in which the plurality of carrying belts carries the card and the like plurality of motors drives the carrying belts, the card travel speed is irregular until the speed of each motor reaches a predetermined rotation speed from the start of that motor over the card passageway, and the inertia of each motor or the carrying mechanism does not causes the card to stop at a predetermined location, so that the position of a punched hole made in the card varies from hole to hole and hence the card cannot visually transmit to the card user accurate magnetically-recorded information (e.g., on the frequency of use of the card).
In addition, since the prior-art card carrier includes an arrangement in which the carrying belts are brought into direct contact with a magnetic data line of the card, the magnetic-data-side surface of the card tends to easily experience damages, e.g., a stain and abrasion, so that reading from and writing into the card become impossible.
In addition, the above prior-art card carrier includes an arrangement in which the pressure roller is in close contact with the magnetic sensor, the conveyance force of the travelling card elevates the pressure roller to pass the card into a space between the pressure roller and the magnetic sensor to bring the card into close contact with the magnetic sensor. Therefore, the front end of the travelling card collides with the pressure roller when the front end of the card elevates the pressure roller, so that a mechanical shock due to that collision causes a jamming of the card on the surface of the magnetic sensor, or the mechanical shock due to said instantaneous collision causes the pressure roller to jump, so that the close contact of the front end of the card with the magnetic card would be broken, and reading and writing data would be impossible during this process.
In the conventional card conveyer mentioned above, the card conveyer passageway is formed as a flat one, so that sand or dust depositing on the card inserted in the card conveyor passageway or dust or the like entering externally into the card conveyer passageway would deposit on substantially the entire area of the card conveyer passageway, so that if a newly inserted card moves along the card passageway, dust or the like contacts the magnetic recording face of the card to thereby produce scratches on the magnetic recording face. If scratches are produced on an area other than the magnetic data line on the card closely contacting the magnetic head of the magnetic sensor, there are few problems. However, if such a scratch is formed on the magnetic data line on the card closely contacting the magnetic head, the magnetic head cannot read data written onto the card, which is a serious problem.
In the conventional card conveyer, when a card is inserted into a card insertion slot, it is immediately gripped between belts of belt-type card conveyer means including the plurality of elastic conveyer belts to thereby travel along the card conveyer passage. As mentioned above, the conveyer belts are made of a deformable elastic material such as rubber, so that even if a card different in thickness from a usable card, namely, an unusable thicker false card, is inserted into the card insertion slot, it is impossible to stop the insertion of the false card. Therefore, in the conventional card carrier, both the usable genuine card of an acceptable thickness and the unusable false card of an unacceptable thicknesses would be received temporarily, then only the unusable thicker false card would be determined to be a false one by a card validator disposed in the card reader and discharged from the card conveyer passageway, so that, disadvantageously, it takes much time for validation of a card according to thickness.